Last-Attempt Drama Highlights Day 1 At MIAC Meet

ST. PAUL, Minn. (5/10/24)---Day 1 of the MIAC Championship Meet belonged to a pair of Cobber athletes on different ends of the collegiate spectrum – and both athletes used their final attempt on Friday to come away with event wins.

Senior Cooper Folkestad pulled a Willis Reed (Google it) and limped into the shot put circle for one more attempt in the shot put and uncorked his best-ever distance to win the event. First-year thrower Elijah Hayes waited until his sixth, and final, attempt in the javelin to overcome the leader and win the even in his first conference outdoor meet.

The victories by Folkestad and Hayes gave Concordia a combined 20 team points which helped CC finish Day 1 in fourth place in the team standings.

Folkestad was in second place entering the three final throws in the shot put and then injured his foot on his next two. He trailed Trent Belseth of St. Scholastica by almost three feet heading into the sixth round of throws and was unsure if he would even be able to make one more toss. Folkestad decided to make a go of it, limped into the circle and then unleashed the event-winning throw of 56-00.00. That mark was a personal best by over a foot, the second farthest distance in program history and No.10 in DIII this year.

Folkestad's win in the outdoor shot put gives him the double in the event for the year as he also claimed the title in the indoor shot put at the conference meet.

The shot put turned out to be a huge point-getter for Concordia as Folkestad was one of four CC athletes to qualify for the finals.

First-year thrower Blake Houska used the Folkestad method by posting his top mark on the final attempt. He qualified for the finals with a distance of 46-09.00 and then bettered that on his sixth heave with a mark of 48-04.50. That distance was good for third place in the event and worth six team points.

Sam Dioszeghy and Dominik Hillstrom posted eighth and ninth-place finishes. Dioszeghy and Hillstrom both posted their best marks on their second attempts. Dioszeghycame through with a distance of 47-07.00, while Hillstrom's top distance was 44-07.00.

Hayes' win in the javelin was less dramatic but still came at the wire. He trailed the leader by four inches after Ian Mortensen of Carleton posted his best mark of the day on his fifth try. Hayes was able to rally and come through with a heave of 186-01 on the last throw of the event which was over two feet better than Mortensen's mark.

Fresh off his eighth-place finish in the MIAC decathlon, sophomore Jacob Pipho also scored team points in the javelin. He posted a distance of 168-01 on his final attempt  

The surprise mark of Day 1 was turned in by junior Ben Peterson. Peterson entered the long jump seeded ninth in the event and proceeded to uncork a personal best distance by over two feet to grab second place in the final standings. Peterson's second-place distance of 22-10.75 came on his fifth attempt and pushed him into the No.4 spot in program history.

The Cobbers also had one track athlete qualify for the finals on Saturday. Logan Clark crossed the line in 15.45 in the 110-meter hurdles. That time was the seventh-fastest of the day.

UP NEXT: Concordia will close out the MIAC Championship Meet on Saturday, May 11 beginning at 12 p.m. at Hamline University.